Snowmobiler buried and killed in Island Park avalanche

TETON VALLEY, IDA – Buckrail has learned the identity of a man swept away in a massive avalanche yesterday as he was snowmobiling in the Centennial Mountains near Island Park.

The body of Adam Wayne Andersen, 36, of Idaho Falls, was recovered this morning after a search was called off yesterday due to unstable snowpack conditions. Anderson was snowmobiling with a group of friends when a slide off Mt. Jefferson buried him. Members of his group attempted to locate him but had no success.

Andersen’s snowmobile was found in the area by rescuers shortly after the incident but conditions worsened before the missing man could be located. Fremont County (Idaho) Sheriff Len Humphries said poor weather conditions and the risk of another avalanche forced him to call off the rescue yesterday.

Fremont County Search and Rescue and sheriff’s deputies resumed the search early Thursday morning. A rescue dog from Teton County Search and Rescue assisted in the recovery operations.